Court directs centre to remove sacked minister’s objectionable video

New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) A court here has directed Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to remove and block video clips of sacked AAP minister Sandeep Kumar, arrested on charges of rape, where he was figured in an objectionable position with a woman.

“In view of submission made, direction is issued to the Director Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to block/remove the above said links with immediate effect,” Special Judge Poonam Chaudhary said in an order delivered on Thursday.

The court order came after the Delhi Police submission that the video clips are highly objectionable, illicit and harm the modesty of a woman. The police pleaded before the court that they are required to be blocked from the internet/website immediately to maintain peace, law and order and modesty of a woman.

The former Social Welfare and Women and Child Development Minister in Delhi government who was remanded to judicial custody till September 23 by a court on Friday, was arrested on September 3 after a woman approached Sultanpuri police station in north Delhi with a complaint of sexual harassment against him.

He was booked under sections 376 (punishment for rape) and 328 (causing hurt by means of poison, with intent to commit an offence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

He was also charged under the Information Technology Act’s section 67A (punishment for publishing or transmitting of material containing sexually explicit act in electronic form).

The woman had alleged in her complaint that she was sexually harassed by Kumar at his office-cum-residence in the Sultanpuri area of the capital where she had gone to get her ration card made.